r/explainlikeimfive • u/bigdubsy • Dec 16 '12

ELI5: Why does Coca-cola still advertise? Explained

Why do companies that have seemingly maxed out on brand recognition still spend so much money on advertising? There is not a person watching TV who doesn't know about Pepsi/Coke. So it occurs to me that they cannot increase the awareness of their product or bring new customers to the product. Without creating new customers, isn't advertisement a waste of money?

I understand that they need to advertise new products, but oftentimes, it's not a new product featured in a TV commercial.

The big soda companies are the best example I can think of.

Edit: Answered. Thanks everyone!

Edit 2: Thanks again to everybody for the discussions! I learned alot more than I expected. If we weren't all strangers on the internet, I'd buy everyone a Pepsi.

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848

u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

Recipe-wise, it's almost identical to Pepsi

Bullshit.

620

u/zephyrtr Dec 16 '12

Yeah Pepsi tastes more like sugar, Coke tastes more like caramel and caffeine.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

What does caffeine taste like..? For the record, I agree with you about the caramel part.

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u/sllewgh Dec 16 '12 edited Aug 07 '24

domineering smell narrow aback quickest shocking alive friendly file command

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u/DeathByPianos Dec 16 '12

Slightly bitter! One time I fell asleep at an all-night LAN party and my "friends" put a caffeine tablet in my open mouth. The pill slowly dissolved and pooled in my dormant mouth I awoke and was greeted by the worst flavor hell I can imagine. Thank god caffeine is soluble in water. It was still so hard to flush out the sides of my tongue. I cringe at the memory even today.

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u/Bacon_is_not_france Dec 16 '12

Please, my buddy shoved the end of a gamecube controller up a dude's ass while he was sleeping at a LAN party. A caffeine pill is nothing.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

this one time, at LAN camp

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u/JoJokerer Dec 17 '12

Nononono, in his ass

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Was Natty Ice and Axe body spray also involved?

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u/spayce_bewbs Dec 17 '12

someone brought a bag full of big black dildos.

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u/Supersnazz Dec 17 '12

In most jurisdictions your friend has committed a rape.

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u/Aaod Dec 17 '12 edited Dec 17 '12

Jesus, and I thought the LAN parties I attended were strange when we would gross each other out with weird porn.

Children this is why you put everything you write on the internet into MS word first before posting.

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u/brevitywitssoul Dec 17 '12

"Jesus and I"

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u/miss_kitty_cat Dec 17 '12

Jesus finds the weirdest porn.

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u/Imreallytrying Dec 17 '12

Thank you. I have now found a sufficiently clever comment that I can feel satisfied with my Reddit experience and will now get back to doing some work.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

I'm glad my parents never got raped at a LAN party.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

Surely the pill isn't pure caffeine. Can we be certain the taste wasn't from the inactive ingredients?

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

If it were, they probably would use a different ingredient.

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u/onceforgoton Dec 17 '12

No, most pills do actually taste absolutely horrible if you chew them. That's because pills weren't meant to be chewed, so why waste money finding ingredients that taste good and still provide the chemical properties you need?

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u/JakeCameraAction Dec 17 '12

Then why does cough syrup still taste like you're rimjobbing a giant toad?

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u/Shadow647 Dec 17 '12

I dunno, cough syrups over here taste like Jagermeister.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

To prevent overconsumption of it which can either make you puke your guts out because of the Guaifenesin in it or tripping thanks to the DXM in it.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Because OTC (and most prescription cough syrup) can get you high.

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u/Esparno Dec 17 '12

They add stuff to make it harder to drink/make you puke so people don't abuse the stuff. You can get really high from Dextromethorphan.

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u/BrokenSea Dec 17 '12

It also stops children thinking they are lollies - so they don't eat them and die.

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u/PEWPEWCHEWCHEW Dec 17 '12

It could be there to keep kids away from the stuff. If a child chews on one then chances are is that they won't eat another. It's either added or is from whatever the caffeine is extracted from.

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u/DeathByPianos Dec 17 '12

Quite right. But, according to wikipedia: A good filler must be inert, compatible with the other components of the formulation, non-hygroscopic, relatively cheap, compactible, and preferably tasteless or pleasant tasting.

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u/Quigglebuffin Dec 17 '12

In fairness a lot of that taste would be filler. The whole tablet isn't caffeine.

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u/DeathByPianos Dec 17 '12

Quite right. But, according to wikipedia:

A good filler must be inert, compatible with the other components of the formulation, non-hygroscopic, relatively cheap, compactible, and preferably tasteless or pleasant tasting.

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u/Quigglebuffin Dec 17 '12

Yeah I agree, but I don't think No-Doz are too concerned about making their filler preferably better tasting.

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u/21thCenturySchizoid Dec 17 '12

Most of the time those tablets are guarana based or even ginseng based. Guarana has a horrible and very strong bitter taste.

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u/johnny_gunn Dec 17 '12

You very easily could've choked on that..

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u/captainsalmonpants Dec 17 '12

Caffeine pills most likely have bitter chemicals added to prevent young children from eating and overdosing on them. Lethal dose is about 1 pill per Kg of weight, so less than a full bottle when looking at a young child. Every couple of years it seems a college kid dies from downing a bottle of the stuff.

As far as the taste of the chemical caffeine alone, I would guess you are right.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Caffeine, like most alkaloids, is indeed bitter.

Source: I have ground up caffeine pills and blended them into a smoothie

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u/atlantis145 Dec 17 '12

Where were you a week ago when I started studying for exams...

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

[deleted]

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u/sllewgh Dec 17 '12 edited Aug 07 '24

tidy airport lock engine strong skirt different employ badge mindless

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u/blolfighter Dec 17 '12

Before someone buys pure caffeine and offs themself, everyone please be advised that caffeine is highly toxic. Not nearly as toxic as nicotine, mind you, but still easy to kill yourself with.

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u/mascaron Dec 17 '12

pure caffeine comes in a powder form, and "bitter" is an understatement. The Ld50 (median lethal dose) in humans is ~150-200 mg / kg. Also, in powder form, you feel the effects very rapidly, and caffeine intoxication symptoms occur quickly and noticeably presents itself after 1 gram in most humans. Lowest recorded death is 3 grams (15 pills worth of NoDoz), but is more typically 10 grams+.

What does all of this mean? Unless you ingest more than a mouthful of powder, you'll simply get a bad case of caffeine intoxication. Before most people could ingest a lethal amount, they'll start feeling rather sick / very unpleasant. If anyone is serious about buying pure caffeine, buy a simple scale and start off with no more than a gram your first time.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

Excitement.

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u/ScampAndFries Dec 17 '12

And cardiac arrhythmia.

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u/MF_Doomed Dec 17 '12

that sweet cardiac arrhythmia.

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u/Ahuva Dec 17 '12

I like cardiac arrhythmia with a hint of shortness of breath.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

The flavour I get comes with some light-headedness too. Dat sway

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

dem PVCs.

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u/vincentkun Dec 17 '12

Wait, caffeine can cause cardiac arrhythmia? Dude I've been chugging down 4-7 cups of coffee a day... EVERY day.

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u/TheBeefyMungPie Dec 16 '12

You can purchase caffeine pills for staying awake. They are about 200 mg of caffeine. And once you taste the pill you can kinda recognize it when you drink sodas or coffee.

( I bought caffeine pills 2 days ago so that I could stay awake studying for my finals.)

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

Dark black tea is also fantastic to stay awake. So good.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

Caffeine tastes like coke, but less caramelly.

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u/michaelushka Dec 17 '12

After reading a few posts about the bitter taste of "pure" caffeine, Coca-cola was not what I thought of when I read this.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

What does caffeine taste like

Bitter.

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u/zephyrtr Dec 17 '12

It's hard to say. You get used to tasting it if you ever had Surge or Jolt habitually (both of which i doubt you can find anymore) but they had so much caffeine you can taste it. It almost tastes like black pepper, I suppose?

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Colors. Caffeine tastes like colors.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

upvote for casually telling redditors to kill themselves

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

A spoonful is way too much. A can of Mountain Dew has about 50mg of caffeine, that's 50 thousandths of one gram. Think about how many grams a spoonful is. Coke and pepsi have about 30 mg.

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u/tylo Dec 16 '12

Yeah, be careful with pure caffeine. You can overdose very easily. Thankfully any reviews of the product if you do buy it will also point this out. This ain't god damn cinnamon we're talking about.

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u/ooakey Dec 17 '12

"This ain't god damn cinnamon we're talking about." This made me laugh

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

speaking of cinnamon, try choking down a spoonful of powdered cinnamon

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

[deleted]

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u/weasleeasle Dec 17 '12

To be fair the main ingredient in orange juice, coffee, pretty much any drink, except strong alcohols is water. It is the solvent that contains the more flavoursome ingredients.

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u/I_Think_Alot Dec 17 '12

It's just a bitter, musty taste.

Source: I lick caffeine pills.

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u/memumimo Dec 17 '12

It tastes bitter.

Source: I eat pure caffeine.

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u/templeboy Dec 17 '12

Bitter. Why else would everything with caffiene in it taste bitter (even if in many cases the bitter is dominated by the sweet.)

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Bitter Mondays

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Unicorn feces

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u/HonoraryMancunian Mar 30 '13

Ever noticed how highly-caffeinated drinks (energy drinks, Jagermeister etc) have a similar taste?

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12 edited Dec 17 '12

It's funny, I always thought Coke tasted too sugary, and Pepsi more bitter.

Edit: Apparently you're right:

Coca Cola: 65 grams per 20 ounces Pepsi: 69 grams per 20 ounces

TIL Pepsi has 6% more sugar than Coke.

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u/Treshnell Dec 16 '12

Yeah, Pepsi product really come across as more sugary tasting. When I was younger I generally preferred Pepsi, but as I've aged I've come to prefer the slightly more bitter taste of Coke. Mt. Dew still reigns supreme over my citrus soda preferences, though.

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u/SurprisePunchline Dec 17 '12

You want your mind blown? Coke and Pepsi taste different in different countries because they adjust the flavor to appeal to different markets. Pepsi in the UK tastes almost exactly the same as Coke in the US, whereas Coke in the UK tastes like US Pepsi with added lemon.

I came to the US and people were horrified when I said I preferred Pepsi... then I tried the American ones and was shocked. SHOCKED!

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u/JorusC Dec 17 '12

Have you tried French Coke? I think it tastes just like American Pepsi.

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u/SurprisePunchline Dec 17 '12

I haven't, sadly. I was in Paris for a couple of days earlier this year, but as my French was so terrible and I didn't have any Euros, I stuck with tap water.

I'm pretty sure UK Pepsi is my favourite of all, but US Coke is a close second.

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u/_Madison_ Dec 17 '12

Yeah coke in the US has a really horrendous almost texture to it. I think its that corn syrup stuff but its just horrible.

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u/SurprisePunchline Dec 17 '12

The sad thing is that Pepsi Throwback is just Pepsi without the corn syrup, and instead of just going back to using sugar in all their drinks, they released a "special edition".

In the UK it's normal to make all sodas with sugar, and the branded drinks aren't cheap in the US, so it's a shame they put profit ahead of a better quality product :

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u/redwall_hp Dec 17 '12

When people make statements like "Recipe-wise, it's almost identical to Pepsi" or "I can't taste the difference between normal and Diet" I have no choice but to assume that most people really don't taste things beyond "this taste sweet. This good."

Flavors are very complex things, and the differences between sodas are huge. Even different types of soda. Pepsi Throwback, for example, has a much smoother flavor and less of that "sticky" feeling that the ordinary variety has. And if you never tried Dr Pepper Heritage before they stopped making it, you missed out. It tastes completely different from the modern soda. You taste the individual sub-flavors so much more. They're much more distinct, while they're kind of "muddy" and blend together more in the normal stuff.

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u/bluehiro Dec 17 '12

Wish I could upvote you twice! While Throwback Pepsi may have the worst name ever, it tastes amazingly good!

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u/digital_bubblebath Dec 17 '12

That is a terrible name!

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u/reindelay Dec 17 '12

what you described would most likely be the flavour/texture differences between sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

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u/redwall_hp Dec 18 '12

That is one part of it, but there are other differences as well. Especially with the Dr Pepper.

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u/JorusC Dec 17 '12

I've found that you can really improve a meal by choosing your soda's taste to complement it, the same way you would with wine. Dr. Pepper or Coke Classic do not go well with spicy food, because the spice makes them taste bitter. Pair with a sweeter drink, like Pepsi, to reduce the heat when you want to. Coke and Dr. Pepper are better paired with sweeter foods or with red meat.

I mean, the machines these days have like a hundred different flavors. Why not choose?

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u/redwall_hp Dec 18 '12

And why limit yourself to the mass-marketed stuff? If you truly want to be a soda connoisseur, try some other, smaller brands. Jones is big in most of the nation, and (up here in New England, at least) you can get Captain Eli's, Stewarts, Maine Root and other sodas that are either made or distributed by various breweries.

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u/FartMart Dec 17 '12

I don't think I can ever really trust someone who says they think coke zero tastes the same as coke.

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u/aladdyn2 Dec 17 '12

I cant tell the difference between throwback and regular but my friends insisted they could. So i did a blind taste test where i had four cups for each person, 2 of throwback, 2 of regular. I failed it, two people got them 100% right one other person i think got one right but was just guessing and my one friend who was the most adamant about preferring throwback got them backwards.. he gave the old "well im getting a cold" excuse

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u/thewetcoast Dec 17 '12

I would characterize the difference as more vanilla-ish with Pepsi, and more spiced with Coke myself. Just kind of feel like there's more nuance to a Coke whereas I get sick of drinking more than 1 Pepsi.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Quantity is definitely a point most taste assessments seem to overlook. When drinking Pepsi, it doesn't take long before I feel like I'm drowning in my own syrupy saliva. With Coke, my saliva still gets gooey but much less so. It's an issue much more prevalent among gamers who'll sit and drink litres at a time.

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u/TheSacramentum Dec 17 '12

Coke tastes more sweet to me, like cherries. Pepsi has a harsher flavor, which i like.

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u/sherlip Dec 17 '12

I believe Coke uses Vanilla, whereas Pepsi uses Lime flavorings.

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u/zephyrtr Dec 17 '12

I did the same: Pepsi until around age 19, and then I switched to Coke. Palette changes are odd when you start your 20s.

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u/LayzeeH Dec 16 '12

And Diet Pepsi tastes like caffeinated gasoline

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u/corycran Dec 16 '12

As the the guy who has always said "No" whenever asked if "Pepsi [was] okay?" I was/still am shocked that I prefer Diet Pepsi to Diet Coke. Coca-Cola Zero was good for a second but now it just tastes like flat Coke (with a splash of Aspertame).

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

Diet Coke is disgusting. It tastes like cold spit.

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u/13143 Dec 16 '12

It tastes like cancer.

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u/lewko Dec 17 '12

Yes, but only one calorie.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Huh, I always thought Coke Zero had Sucralose, like Pepsi One.

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u/DrProv Dec 17 '12

Nope, only diet coke with a yellow swooshy stripe. I like it

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u/FriendlyDespot Dec 17 '12

Try Pepsi NEXT.

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u/TheEquivocator Jan 06 '13

Diet Pepsi tastes a lot more like Pepsi than Diet Coke tastes like Coke.

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u/DollarTwentyFive Dec 16 '12

That's a really great description, minus the caffeine part. I've always had trouble describing the difference between the two, but Pepsi definitely tastes more sugary now that I think of it.

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u/fibbo Dec 17 '12

I did read camel and then I asked myself if that does make sense and then I realized I don't know how camels taste.

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u/IAmManMan Dec 17 '12

I do not like caramel. I've just worked out why I prefer Pepsi.

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u/adamonline45 Dec 17 '12

And I still respect you!

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u/CoffeeFox Dec 17 '12

They don't have to very much to taste different, you know.

Functionally and chemically they could be a thousandth of a percent different to taste different enough to your tongue to seem like different products. Soda is soda, it's nothing special as an entire category, and narrowing that down only to cola flavored sodas makes the difference even less. They could use all of the exact same artificial flavor compounds in a minutely different proportion and people would swear they were way different.

Also they could literally be the same beverage and people would still swear they were drinking two different things. Just like fans of the major american industrial beers swear their choice tastes the best, then have zero clue which beer is which when taste testing them blind (because all of them actually are identical).

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u/zephyrtr Dec 17 '12

Next you're going to tell me all hot dogs are the same. Pepsi and Coke are not the same formula, and that's why there IS a taste difference.

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u/Malician Dec 17 '12

He's not saying they are, he's saying it doesn't matter if they are and that they don't have to be.

This is true. The amount of people who can tell the difference between, say, sugared and HFCS is much higher than the number who can repeatedly do so on blind taste tests.

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u/andyjonesx Dec 17 '12

I thought caramel was just the colouring to stop it being green, not the flavour.

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u/zephyrtr Dec 17 '12

Besides sugar, soda gets its flavor from the 'natural flavors' listed as the last ingredient. There is caramel coloring used in pretty much every cola, but the natural flavors in coke do replicate the taste of caramel a bit.

They're SUPPOSED to taste like kola nut. That's why we call them COLA drinks, but I don't think any sodas use kola nut extract anymore. If you can get your hands on one, though, try it -- it's delicious.

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u/andyjonesx Dec 17 '12

Then you have educated me! Thanks!

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u/contramundi Dec 17 '12

To me, Coke tastes like caramel and carbonic acid.

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u/zephyrtr Dec 17 '12

It is a little more acidic, I would agree.

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u/ne0b0rn Dec 17 '12

You are forgetting that wonderful citrus smell, lemon my senses would tell me! It took me ages and one coca cola addiction to understand my pavlovian response and why they played a sound of opening a beer and pouring it .... ON THE RADIO!!! I get it now :) Thanks Santa Coke, Polar Bear Coke Family!

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u/boilermakermatt Dec 17 '12

Don't forget coca leaves, something Pepsi lacks.

Although they extract the cocaine from it before they mix it in. It's an unfortunate fact.

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u/sun-eyed_girl Dec 17 '12

I've always thought Coke has sort of a spiciness akin to cinnamon. I prefer Pepsi for that reason.

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u/zephyrtr Dec 17 '12

I agree, its closer in flavor to Dr. Pepper than Pepsi is.

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u/smithjoe1 Dec 17 '12 edited Dec 17 '12

Tastes more like a bastardized delicious citrus blend. But once you know the flavours that make up "cola" such as the opencola syrup, then it will never taste the same again.

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u/casequarters Dec 17 '12

...and Coke contains more caffeine than Pepsi.

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u/Bill_Kuzzington Dec 17 '12

I bet you $5 I can smell the difference between Coca-Cola and Pepsi while blindfolded. I'd be more but I don't want anxiety to mess me up.

Edit: That being said Coke is for Polar Bears and Pepsi is still for the Next Generation. Has Pepsi even advertised since the Michael Jackson years?

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Coke tastes like Coke. Pepsi tastes like flat Coke, brown sugar, Splenda, and regret.

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u/zephyrtr Dec 17 '12

Who is this? Fyodor Dostoevsky?

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u/FakeCrash Dec 16 '12

The key word here is recipe-wise. They have the same ingredients.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

They may taste somewhat different due to minute ingredient changes, but I can confirm the two recipes are very similar.

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u/evildead4075 Dec 16 '12

But... You're a potato.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

Correct, a Rather large one at that.

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u/MrEctomy Dec 16 '12

Does there exist a very scientific survey of people being tested to tell the difference between pepsi and coke? I would like to read it.

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u/bsrg Dec 16 '12 edited Dec 16 '12

After a quick googling, I only found taste preference experiments. What I know is that one time I sipped into someone's coke and went "wtf is this shit" - it was Pepsi.

Edit: This found that few people are able to identify the tastes, but it's been done with 3 kind of cokes and 62 years ago.

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u/Phoneseer Dec 16 '12 edited Dec 16 '12

The recipes of both are really intensely secret. Did you hear about the coke employees a few years ago that tried to sell the recipe to Pepsi, but just got reported and arrested?

To answer your question, though, the book SuperFreakonomics talked about taste tests between the brands a lot, and how Pepsi would usually be found to taste better, but even avowed fans of one brand often mistook it in blind taste tests with the other.

Edit: shoot, it wasn't super freakonomics... I'll try ad remember what book it was. Sorry...

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u/lacienega Dec 16 '12

It was the book "Blink." He said Pepsi did the best when it was a sip test, people preferred it in that small amount. But in a whole drink it seems they preferred Coke.

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u/Phoneseer Dec 17 '12

Yes, that's it! Thanks! Since I got an e-reader I've been confusing books more and more.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

[deleted]

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u/lacienega Dec 17 '12

Maybe it's the physical act of holding the book, and how ebooks don't take up space in the real world?

I use Kindle but I try and get real books whenever I still can, I just love the physical presence of them, a really good book doesn't feel right in a form that feels less definitive.

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u/adamonline45 Dec 17 '12

As a hobbyist DJ, this is why I still use analog vinyl, and not digital vinyl. Without the album covers, it's very hard to distinguish one [jungle] track from another without listening to it; or in other words, just through the artist/title.

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u/inphared Dec 17 '12

Living in Texas, with Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper being the rivals that they are, I can tell you with absolute certainty that I can taste the difference in all three, with no prior indication as to which is which.

In my opinion:

Dr. Pepper is sweet, and is the least acidic of the three.

Pepsi is much more sweet, and is much more acidic.

Coke is the most acidic of the three, and tastes almost bitter to me. It also has a very pungent aftertaste.

I'm a Pepper, if that makes any difference.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

I don't think Dr. Pepper is even considered a cola. It's it's own thing.

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u/oneelectricsheep Dec 17 '12

Not highly scientific I suppose but I tested 100 people in high school using 4 different blank cups in a random order and all but one of them could tell the difference. That guy ate peanut butter and mustard sandwiches though so he was definitely an outlier in so many ways.

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u/p7r Dec 16 '12

I meant that Pepsi is clearly not Dr Pepper, or 7up, or Cheesecake, or a small pigeon pan-fried and served with a red wine jus.

They're colas. If you aren't brand loyal, they are for the most part interchangeable products. You think they taste far more different than they do, because when you drink it you are also associating all sorts of brand issues with it.

On blind taste tests, Pepsi wins out over Coke. When it's not blind? Coke wins. Those blind taste tests is what led them to come up with "New Coke". I barely remember the fuss over that, but the story behind it is worth reading if you want to see what happens when you mess with brand values.

I get what you're saying, but I hope you also understand that essentially they're almost the same, and a lot of the "difference" is actually in the colour of the can/bottle you're drinking it out of.

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u/helix19 Dec 16 '12 edited Dec 17 '12

I can't remember the official name, but companies prefer to use "regular situation" testing. So instead if putting a cup in front of a person in a lab, they send them home with a six pack. The results of these tests can be very different, and obviously the second one is more reliable. Source: Malcolm Gladwell book, can't remember which one. Edit: it was Blink. A very interesting read.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Blink

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u/helix19 Dec 17 '12

That's what I thought. Thank you.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

On blind taste tests, Pepsi wins out over Coke.

It depends on the amount. In blind taste tests with small amounts, Pepsi wins, due to the extra sweetness. But blind taste tests with larger amounts cause people to prefer Coke, because they don't like the extra sweetness over a large quantity.

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u/NotMyBike Dec 17 '12

Wow, you really like Coke, huh?

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u/Harflin Dec 17 '12

Squire makes a valid point, regardless of any bias he has.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

I suppose it's OK, though I don't really drink soda anymore. Funny thing is, I'm wearing a Coca-Cola t-shirt at the moment.

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u/CuntSmellersLLP Dec 17 '12

If what he says is true, I don't see how that would make any difference.

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u/kyookumbah Dec 17 '12 edited Dec 17 '12

You sort of implied this, but it's worth noting that if someone has a tiny bit of coke right after the slightly sweeter pepsi, it's going to taste more bitter than it would on its own since their palette has been ruined. So it's not necessarily about pepsi being "better" in small quantities, but simply that the test is done in a way that ensures half the tasters will be tricked into sampling pepsi first and therefore be more likely to prefer it under those conditions despite it being gross.

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u/iseetriple Dec 17 '12

Someone should tell that to researchers that conducted the test - I'm sure that probability never crossed their minds. I hear taste tests between mega-brands tend to be conducted by high school students as science projects.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Source?

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u/IDownvoteYourKid Dec 17 '12

Blink by Malcome Gladwell

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u/invertedearth Dec 17 '12

You can easily train yourself to distinguish between them with practice. It just might help you win a few bar bets.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

I've never heard this addition to that well known survey. Would you care to provide sources? It would be really interesting.

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u/boxybroker Dec 17 '12

It doesn't matter how much people claim no one can tell the difference; I know the difference between Pepsi and Coke (and off-brand cola). It has nothing to do with the branding. If I sit down at a restaurant and they're interchangeable, it's because I like them both, and if I want a cola vs. tea or lemonade they're close enough in the same category. I specifically want the taste of one or the other sometimes, and will pass up a Coke when I really want to taste Pepsi, or vice versa.

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u/RobertTheSpruce Dec 17 '12

I don't know if it's the same in the US, but here in the UK, bars, restaurants and eateries tend to serve either Coke or Pepsi. You want one? If you ask for a Coke and you get whatever they have, be it Pepsi, or Coca-Cola.

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u/invertedearth Dec 17 '12

The thing with New Coke was a gigantic, billion-dollar sleight-of-hand trick. The whole purpose was not to sell New Coke. It was to distract us from the reformulation from sugar to high fructose corn syrup as the sweetener. Before New Coke? Sugar. After? HFCS. We were all so damn happy to have our Coke back that we just accepted it. Even at the time, though, people who had hoarded the original Coke talked about it tasting different in side-by-side tests.

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u/capnjngl Dec 17 '12

Weird, I've taken the Pepsi challenge a couple times, and I can always pick out the Coke.

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u/spiderspit Dec 17 '12

If you are drawn to the story check out And the Other Guy Blinked that chronicles the Pepsi-Coke story over decades.

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u/FriendlyDespot Dec 17 '12

They're colas. If you aren't brand loyal, they are for the most part interchangeable products. You think they taste far more different than they do, because when you drink it you are also associating all sorts of brand issues with it.

That's an absurd thing to say. There are very obvious differences in taste between the two. What the difference between blind and informed taste tests shows you is that some people care more about brand than taste, but it certainly does not tell you that most people care more about brand than taste.

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u/p7r Dec 17 '12

75% of subjects are affected by the name given to the drink in the cup. That's "most", not just "some".

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u/ralf_ Dec 17 '12 edited Dec 17 '12

I once heard that because of the larger sugar content people prefer the first sip of Pepsi. But if the blind taste test is changed to a whole can or bottle it flips back to Coca Cola.

Comment further down has a source: http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/14y695/eli5_why_does_cocacola_still_advertise/c7hnivv

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u/imaunitard Dec 17 '12

Maybe Ginger Ale is Pepsi mixed with 7-up.

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u/bubblybooble Dec 17 '12

In blind taste tests, Pepsi wins out because it's much sweeter. It's more pleasant for the initial sip, but becomes cloying for the entire beverage experience. Coke is less sweet but has a more complex flavor profile that more people enjoy for the entire beverage experience.

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u/lazyFer Dec 17 '12

Saying "essentially they're almost the same" is in fact saying they are different.

They have different flavors, different sweetness levels, different carbonation levels. These things all add up to a significantly different experience regardless of recipes being similar (experience as related to both taste and "mouth feel").

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u/MrCheeze Dec 16 '12

Bullshit to that.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Arguably, I'd understand if a majority of the taste difference between coke and pepsi is how we perceive the tastes physiologically.

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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '12

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u/kiwirish Dec 16 '12

Depends on how used to the tastes you are, maybe in New Zealand we have larger taste difference to the US, but in a split-second I can tell you if I'm drinking Coke or Pepsi, the difference to me is vast, but they're good in their own ways.

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u/spacehicks Dec 17 '12

Absolutely agree. Here in Maryland the tastes of both can change depending on where in the state you bought it from. I was a Pepsi drinker in Salisbury, and a coke drinker in Baltimore

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u/Glitchz0rz Dec 17 '12

I think it's the same in Canada, odd given how close we are to the States. But Coke here tastes way closer to carbonated water while Pepsi tastes way sweeter and it feels like you can really taste the syrup in it. In the US I found Coke tastes more like Pepsi, the same "thick" syrup flavour that Pepsi in Canada has exists for coke in the US. Kinda weird huh?

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Have you tried them both?

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Another kiwi here, I agree with you. There is a significant difference between coke and pepsi I don't think they taste even slightly similar.

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u/kiwirish Dec 17 '12

I think we do have a different formula to the US, so that might be the reason. I tend to prefer NZ Pepsi to NZ Coke, but Coke is all goods, I'm not very fussy at all with my food/beverages.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Do you think that Coke Zero and Coke tastes the same? Because I think I could definitely tell the difference in a blind taste test but I've never actually tested it.

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u/kiwirish Dec 17 '12

Nope, they taste very different. Sugar vs sweetener is always a dead giveaway to me. Zero isn't terrible, but I'll always take Coke over Coke Zero.

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u/lazyFer Dec 17 '12

I don't like the added sweetness of pepsi, I also don't like how the carbonation feels and that it goes flat so fast.

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u/kiwirish Dec 17 '12

To each their own, I like Pepsi, but it's clear that most of the world prefers Coke. You do raise a good point though, I only like Pepsi when drunk quickly, otherwise I prefer Coke, because I tend to drink it slower, and it is fresher for longer.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

My (now former) roommate used to swear up and down he can taste the difference, AND that "Mexico Coke" sweetened with cane sugar tastes the best. So I had him do a taste test with the following:

  1. Pepsi (from a can)
  2. Pepsi Retro (from a can, pepsi with sugar)
  3. Coke (from a plastic bottle, had sat in fridge for an abnormally long time)
  4. Coke Mexico (from a glass bottle, sat in fridge same amount of time)

Each in an identical shot class, labeled on the bottom so as to not be visible to the taster.

He got all four wrong.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

I always suspected the taste was mostly the same between the variants of cola. For some reason, I cannot stand drinking from a plastic bottle/can; I'm less revolted drinking from a glass bottle.

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u/lazyFer Dec 17 '12

"Mexico Coke" still uses HFCS, the true difference comes from the fact that it's in a glass bottle. Chemically speaking, the glass is far far less reactive with the contents than a plastic bottle or aluminum can.

I like coke. I love it in a glass bottle. I like it in a can. I don't like it as much from a plastic bottle.

I'm sure a variety of reasons are involved, I'm guessing that the main difference between the can and plastic bottle are carbonation issues.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Maybe they don't import these where you are? Mexican Coke

It's definitely sugar, though I'm not sure if it's cane or beet.

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u/lazyFer Dec 17 '12

Costco sells the mexican coke made from real sugar. The little hole in the wall mexican place I go also sells mexican coke in glass bottles, but those are labeled that they use HFCS instead of real sugar.

Two glass bottles of coke, both from Mexico, one has sugar, the other has HFCS.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

What about Coke, Pepsi, Orange Soda?

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u/GoodOnYouOnAccident Dec 17 '12

Most people cannot tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke during a blind taste-test. Google it.

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Except, of course, that it's NOT "bullshit". In blind taste tests, almost no one has EVER been able to tell the difference. In fact, to the small degree that anyone has been able to tell them apart, the majority prefer Pepsi... until they're informed of which brand they picked. Then they insist that they actually preferred Coke. This kind of blind stupidity where human beings prefer Tribalistic team mentality over actual scientific fact is one of the reasons we're stuck in an evolutionary impasse, unable to overcome our monkey-instinct to fling feces at anyone or anything that goes against our preconceptions.

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/newcoke.asp http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsi_Challenge http://www.doublefine.com/news/comments/coke_vs._pepsi_vs._humans_at_double_fine/ http://www.60secondmarketer.com/60SecondArticles/Branding/cokevs.pepsitast.html

See also "Any Reddit thread relating to the ill effects of marijuana."

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u/[deleted] Dec 17 '12

Pepsi has smaller bubbles! Easy to detect

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u/Malfeasant Dec 17 '12

heh, i guess i'm almost no one. you know, sometimes you go to a restaurant, and ask for dr pepper, but they don't have it, so you ask for a coke, and rather than disappoint you by again saying "we don't have it, is pepsi ok?" they just bring you the pepsi in an unmarked cup. yeah, i can tell the difference, though it's not anything i'm going to complain about.

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u/kingmanic Dec 17 '12

There is a general difference in that Pespi tastes sweeter than coke. This leads to extended double blind test saying a large chunk of people like pespi in sips and coke in larger quantities. It's not a huge deal but a difference does exist. People can distinguish that it's two different drinks even if they can't place a finger on which ones which.

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u/trevpr1 Dec 17 '12

In most of the world it is true. The reason is that we have "New Coke." They never reverted to "Classic" in Europe, for example. It does taste a lot like Pepsi. When I last visited the US drinking a coke was like a trip down mempory lane.

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u/rolfraikou Dec 17 '12

No, recipe wise it is almost identical. The ingredients, mostly water, corn syrup, are the same. This is true of shasta cola, dr. pepper, hell, even 7up is mostly the same ingredients. However, none of those have the mental impact coke does, despite the fact that IMO pepsi, mr. pibb and dr. pepper taste way better, it is true that I have that same "it isn't christmas without christmas coke in stores" nostalgia.

P.S. Pepsi Throwback and imported mexican Coke both taste way the hell better.

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u/Wazowski Dec 17 '12

Look everyone. Advertising works.

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u/mobugs Dec 17 '12

Yeah, there's not even a consistent coke recipe, they vary around the world.

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u/Squid-Bastard Dec 17 '12

I think pepsi taste lighter and maybe a bit saltier, like if you took coke and added a whole bunch of tonic water to it, which I'm okay with.

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